Fishing with a lure, artificial bait which imitates the shape of a small fish, involves manipulating the lure to make it look as if it were a live small fish. In this manner, the fish it is desired to catch, which feed on smaller fish, are attracted and caught. Lure fishing requires the angler to take into consideration the type of fish he wishes to catch, the conditions in the fishing place, the season, time of day, weather and other variable elements in addition to technical factors such as the sort of action of the lure the fish are likely to be attracted by, and to make full use of his tackle accordingly. It is especially important that the lure is capable of catching the attention of the fish and inducing an appetite. Inasmuch as with artificial bait it is impossible to appeal to the fish's sense of smell, the emphasis comes to be placed on appealing to the senses of sight and hearing. Consequently, the function required of it is that pulling on the line should cause it to behave in the manner of a small fish, while reflecting the light and emulating the sound of swimming in such a way as to attract the larger fish.
Reflection of light is effective in attracting fish, but the effect is diminished because of the relatively small amount of natural light which the lure is able to reflect when moving within the water. Moreover, it is impossible to utilise natural light during the hours from dusk into the night and at dawn, when the best catch is expected. Lures equipped with internal light-emitting bodies have been developed in order to enhance the effect of luring fish with the aid of light irrespective of such changes of condition. Some make use of light generated by means of chemical reaction, but greater stability of light is obtained if a battery and a light-emitting diode using the battery as a power source are housed within the lure.
The lure illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11 is one which was disclosed in Japanese Utility Model publication Jikkaisho 53-142485. As may be seen from FIG. 10, a light-emitting body and battery are housed within a fish-shaped case which resembles a small fish, and for this reason the fish-shaped case is formed in such a manner that it can be divided into a head section 41 and a tail section 42. Hooks 43 are suspended from the abdomen side of the head section 41 and from the tail section 42 respectively. Inside the fish-shaped case, as may be seen from FIG. 11, are housed a light-emitting diode 44 and a battery 48. The battery 48 acts as the power source to illuminate the light-emitting diode 44, so that portions light up on either side of the head, which viewed from the outside correspond to the fish's eyes.
The aforesaid head section 41 and tail section 42 are structured in such a manner as to screw into each other to form a single body, a male screw 41a formed on the head section 41 engaging with a female screw 42a formed on the tail section 42. In order to change the battery 48, the tail section 42 is unscrewed from the head section 41 to expose the battery 48 which is held within the head section 41, the spent battery 48 is extracted from a battery fitting 45, a new battery 48 is inserted into the battery fitting 45, and the tail section 42 is screwed back on to the head section 41. When the lure is not in use, unnecessary battery consumption is prevented by fitting the end of the cylindrical battery 48 which has no electrode into the battery fitting 45, thus releasing the connection with the light-emitting diode 44. When it is in use, as FIG. 11 demonstrates, the end of the battery 48 which has the electrode is inserted into the battery fitting 45 in order to allow the light-emitting diode 44 to illuminate. The operation of switching between on and off in the light-emitting diode 44 is also accomplished by attaching and detaching the head section 41 and the tail section 42.
Batteries of large size cannot be used for a light-emitting lure, because the battery is housed within a small case made to resemble a small fish. Even lithium batteries, which have a large capacity in relation to their volume, last only a few hours if the light-emitting diode is kept on continuously, and the battery needs changing frequently. In order to reduce battery consumption it is necessary to switch the light-emitting diode on and off diligently. The operations of changing the battery and switching the light-emitting diode on and off require the case to be opened and the battery attached or detached. Not only is unscrewing the tail section 42 from the head section 41 as hitherto a time-consuming operation, but it involves rotating the tail section 42 to which a hook 43 is attached. It is problematic in that there is a risk of injuring the fingers with the hook 43 or getting the hook 43 fast in one's clothing during the operation.
Moreover, illuminating the lure on either side of the head with the aid of a light-emitting diode makes it easier to recognise for fish swimming by the side of its body, but this is not true of fish swimming behind it and following the fish which are actually showing interest, so that there are problems of decreased efficacy in attracting fish.
The present invention has been designed in view of the abovementioned problems, and seeks to provide a light-emitting lure which does not require batteries to be changed. At the same time it also seeks to provide a light-emitting lure which, while requiring the battery to be changed, is structured in such a manner that this can be accomplished easily and safely. Both serve to increase the efficacy of luring fish by means of light.